Rats possess a surprising sense of empathy, according to research published last week in Science. The findings highlight one more reason why rats, with their complex repertoire of social behavior, may be well suited for autism studies.

Oxytocin, the so-called ‘love hormone,’ plays a key role in monogamy in rodents, but its association with human relationships is subtle at best.

Individuals with autism are no more likely to donate money when being observed than when alone.

A new study finds that Dutch children picked up by the police for minor offenses score higher than controls on a questionnaire measuring traits of autism.

Individuals with fragile X syndrome make slightly more eye contact in stressful social situations after taking oxytocin compared with placebo.

College students prefer the laughter of children with autism to that of typical children. This suggests that laughter may help children with the disorder connect with others.

People with autism aren’t the only ones who struggle to assume the perspective of others. Typical young people who are socially adept have good spatial skills — but only when asked to see things from the perspective of human-like objects.

Unlike typical controls, adults with autism do not synchronize their eye blinks with those of other people, according to a study published in the July issue of Neuropsychologia.

A new study shows that women with high-functioning autism appear better able to camouflage their symptoms, perhaps because they are more self-aware than men with the disorder.

Children with autism have less brain matter than normal in a region that synthesizes the social hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, according to a study published 29 April in Biological Psychiatry.